Packaging: Custom palletizer handles fruit gently

Paramount Citrus launched its oranges nationwide in 2011. To handle increased production, the company designed the largest citrus packing house in the world. By replacing manual palletizing with an automated solution, the company enhanced throughout rates while positioning itself to handle seasonal peaks and future growth.

The palletizing equipment needed to handle multiple packaging types gently and securely at a target throughput rate of 40 to 50 cases per minute. The new custom-engineered palletizers feature package-handling modifications that enabled the company to automate the legacy manual process of column stack nesting corrugate tabbed cases.

“To process the volume of fruit coming in the facility, we needed a fully automated process throughout the facility, which meant an automated palletizing system was a major requirement,” says Jason Blake, vice president of the California packing operations for Paramount Citrus. “We did 30 days of testing on the first three palletizing lines, but by the time we got to the fourth and fifth, we felt confident that all lines would deliver without going through acceptance testing.”

Following testing, the supplier conducted a training program to ensure facility employees could handle the influx of fruit once the mandarin season began. Employees became certified after passing exams for everything from equipment operation to troubleshooting and maintenance.

The shift from manual to automated palletizing resulted in a line productivity increase of 15% and the facility’s rate of 40 to 50 cases per minute exceeds any level possible through manual processes.

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